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Brian Genius
Brian Glenn (born August 15, 1981), better known by his ring name Brian Genius is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to the Professional Grappling Association (PGA) as a star in the organization's Juniors division. He is known for his “Smartest Man in the Room” gimmick, astounding attention to personal haircare, and is a former World Junior Heavyweight Champion. Early Life Brian Glenn grew up in lower-upper middleclass suburbia in Brecksville, Ohio. He attended Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School, where he participated in both track and theater. He graduated in his class’s academic top ten, avoiding valedictorian status due to his insistence on taking elective courses. Not intending on straying too far from his hometown, he attended Kent State University, double-majoring in the Fine Arts (Ceramics) and Ethics. Early Career Finding his employment options sparse following graduation, he took up professional wrestling as a lark to stay active on the recommendation of friend and wrestler Scottie Lord. He joined his training class at the notorious Labyrinth training center, working with grizzled veterans Don Hart and ‘Greasy’ Dane McQueen. Outstanding Wrestling Federation (2002-2003) Despite only showing minor aptitude as a professional wrestler, in January of 2002, Glenn made his debut for independent regional Midwestern promotion Outstanding Wrestling Federation (OWF) as a favor to Scottie Lord, who had become a strong midcard presence in the company. Mutually looking for a chance to compete on the card, he formed a comedy tag team with fellow curtain-jerker Irish Rob. The idea was that Glenn, a new wrestler, was taking advantage of skilled wrestler Rob, who was actually from Ireland and therefore “did not understand how things worked in America.” They were only allowed to interfere in matches and not affect the outcome at all, so they dubbed themselves “Minor Annoyance.” After floundering and barely wrestling for two months, their first real feud with incoming comedy tag team Jew Cool became a mutually beneficial relationship. Going off-script, they treated a feud that was supposed to be about which team should be allowed to wear sunglasses with Wrestlemania Main Event-level importance, garnering both teams a cult following and essentially turning the pseudo-heel Minor Annoyance face. (Despite losing, Jew Cool continued to wear sunglasses.) Their popularity on the rise, Minor Annoyance soon won the OWF Tag Team titles and changed their name to Major Annoyance. In a controversial move, they shortly lost their titles to unproven new hire MegaImpact, a high-flying, hardcore team as an excuse to hold a four-team TLC match for the titles to mimic the major promotions at their next big show. Playing up on his vaguely defined strategist gimmick, Glenn won the match for his team by avoiding all dangerous spots and waiting until everyone had eliminated each other before climbing the ladder to win the match. Rob suffered an ankle injury at the hands of a botched spot by MegaImpact that he continued to work through, leading to Glenn having an increased in-ring role in the team. They held the titles until the company announced its folding mid-2003, as the main eventers funding the promotion lost interest because fans began leaving before their epic matches took place. The remaining undercard wrestlers held a farewell show, where Major Annoyance dropped the belts to Jew Cool. European Tour (2003) Looking to continue wrestling, Major Annoyance took a brief tour of Ireland, the UK, and Germany. While there, they reversed roles, with Rob taking charge and explaining to Brian “how things worked in Europe.” Loving the charmingly xenophobic nature of their act, they went over quite well. Glenn cites the trip as being “extremely formative” and soaked up the various new styles presented to him like a sponge. Outstanding Wrestling Federation 2.0 (2004-2005) Upon learning that several members of the original OWF had managed to scrape together funding to restart the promotion, Major Annoyance returned to America, throwing European uppercuts like nobody's business. After a slow start and having little to do as superface Jew Cool reigned the tag division, Major Annoyance turned heel on their friends topped by Glenn's scathing, serious promo about how “they were there first” and how Jew Cool was “riding their coattails.” Major Annoyance regained the tag team titles by nefarious means (Glenn convinced Rob that he was allowed to use foreign objects because he was a foreigner,) and joined the stable of the company’s heel authority figure alongside new OWF Champion Scottie Lord. After two months of running roughshod over the company, Irish Rob opted to leave the wrestling business due to his nagging injury. The pair dropped their titles in another ladder match, which ended with Glenn berating Rob for losing their belts for them, Pillmanizing his leg, and “permanently injuring” him by hooking in a grapevine ankle lock that he would not let go of, even with officials attempting to pull him off. Citing his being the “real brains” behind Major Annoyance, Glenn changed his ring name to Brian Genius, adopting a flamboyant wardrobe and outlandish hairstyle. He quickly won the company’s United States title, and engaged in a never-ending blood feud with Justin “2 Hottie” Scheinhardt of the also-recently-defunct Jew Cool. Rumors of backstage manipulation ran rampant as both men were rumored to have the ear of the booking team, or were secretly members themselves. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources citation needed In early 2005, the OWF’s bad luck resurfaced again as their means of funding dried up once more, leaving Glenn fend for himself with sparse independent bookings in the States. Japan (2005-2006) Wishing to expand his horizons, Genius traveled to Japan and signed a contract with All Asia Pro Wrestling in 2005. He was put in a mask and full body suit under the name Super Tiger. After a horrendous debut that included several botched spots, coupled with the perceived disrespect to the then-vacant Tiger GAO heritage, it would be his first and only match with the company. Defeated but not discouraged, he worked several Japanese indies under the Brian Genius name, digging his OWF US Title out of the mothballs and hoping to get some mileage out of a good old xenophobic gimmick by claiming to be the “Ideal American.” In a bizarre turn of fate, a supposed combination of his good looks, anime-level hairstyle, and possibly mistranslated Japanese in his rants about the values of intelligence endeared him to the fans in unheard of levels. He ran a racket defending his US belt against heel Gaijin opponents in various promotions, including his mentor 'Greasy' Dane McQueen's son, 'Greasy' Dane McQueen (II). Firmly entrenched in the scene as a cult favorite, he opted to stay in Japan even when the Outstanding Wrestling Federation restarted for a sure-to-be-disastrous third time. (He did return for one show to drop his United States Title) He spent a majority of 2006 working in a surprisingly popular oddball tag team with indie lucharesu darling and ninja assassin Ultimo Cubs. The Final Death Throes of the OWF (2006) As the OWF once again began suffering a slow, grinding death, Genius returned to book the final two months of the promotion with Scheinhardt out of a sense of loyalty to the company. The shows built up to a final farewell performance, "OWF We Mean It This Time." In the show, Brian participated in a final Jew Cool/Major Annoyance matchup, schemed his way into an OWF Title match victory over James Killing after the regularly scheduled main event, then promptly lost the belt in under five minutes to fan favorite Donny “The Basketball” Spaulding. World Warrior (2006-2009) Continuing his efforts to improve his skills by absorbing the wrestling culture wherever he went, Genius would spend the next two years in Japan, and taking short runs in various countries in between tours. This included stops in England, Germany, Australia, and one disastrous appearance in Mexico as a favor to the Ultimo Cubs. There working under the guise of DARKNESS Cubs, he had already created a volatile fan environment by running a gimmick where he was sleeping with the wives and girlfriends of all of his opponents. Genius came in as his surprise tag team partner, and unintentionally http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources citation needed removed the mask of beloved technico Mascara Misterio mid-match, with no story or buildup. Supposedly the flashy, ultra-modern mask’s snap fasteners had broken http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources citation needed leading to it coming off in Genius’s hands during a simple snap mare takeover. In the ensuing riot, Genius and Cubs fled the building, with Genius vowing to never work in Mexico again. In early 2009, now rampantly popular in Japan and drawing a much-coveted female fanbase wherever he went, Brian Genius was offered a new contract with AAPW under his own identity. At the same time, PGA scouts began showing interest in him due to his micwork, comedy skills and Cleveland connection for their relaunch. Feeling homesick, he opted for the lower-profile position in the PGA. Professional Grappling Association Professional Grappling Association (2009-) Brian Genius debuted as a part of the PGA’s World Talent Initiative on February 25, 2009 in Greensboro, NC, winning his match against “Koala Bear Kid” Andrew McPhee, earning himself a spot on the new roster and a position in the Crowning A Champion’s Waist tournament for the new PGA World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. He would lose in the first round to Brutal Chambers. He then formed a loose alliance with noted wild card Snake Eyes, dubbed “Snake Mind.” It quickly fell apart due to conflicting world views. He also had a loosely defined beef with Ajay Rupa due to them both using the cobra stretch as a finishing maneuver. With his comedy wheels spinning, the PGA suddenly entered a talent exchange agreement with All Asia Pro Wrestling. Throwing a hail mary, Genius used his past AAPW connections and suggested inserting himself into the contract signing of Brutal Chambers and Raijin Narukami as a way to extend their feud for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship on the way to the Throwing Hands pay-per-view. Trying to insert himself into the match by assaulting Brutal and signing their contract, he was quickly rebuffed by B. Armstrong Ruby and promised a spot if Genius and a partner could defeat Brutal and Raijin in a tag match the next week. Foolishly re-forming Snake Mind, he would lose the match when Ajay Rupa took the place of an absent Raijin and pinned Genius. A three-way feud erupted between Rupa, Snake Eyes and Genius, including their valets and an impromptu Genius sidekick in longtime interview girl Pru. Upon seeing the rabid following he legitimately had in Japan, booking was changed at the last minute for Genius to win his match. During Brutal Chambers’s World Junior Heavyweight Title victory interview, Brian Genius seemingly showed up to congratulate him, only to leave with Brutal’s crush, Pru, on a date. The following weeks led to Genius shoving his relationship in Brutal’s face, all the while egging him on to give him a title shot. Adding fuel to the fire, he gained backup in the form of Rusty Cooledge and new hire Crimson Skies, which led to Genius getting a pinfall victory over Brutal in a six-man tag team match after using Pru as a human shield and exploding Brutal’s nose with a sickening apron-to-security-rail Springshot. Now with more to justify his claim to a title shot, Genius continued to publicly display his affections to Pru in front of Brutal, leading many backstage to feel uncomfortable due to Chambers’s supposed real-life crush on her. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources citation needed This all came to a head during one of the tensest situations in Primetime Wednesday’s history, as a goofy Pru Calling segment devolved into a standoff between Genius and Brutal, with Pru throwing herself into a knockout punch that was meant for Genius. Shattering his psyche, Genius continuously reminded Chambers of what he had done until their title match at The Grandest Stage of The Mall. Distracted by accidentally bumping Pru off the apron, Brutal released a sure-victory submission hold on Genius to help her, only to get hit with three Expert Dreamcrushers from Genius. With only seconds left in the match, Brutal passed out in the Expert Dreamtwister. This was Genius’s first major national title win, and made Genius only the third person ever to hold the World Junior Heavyweight Title. Later in the night, during the Mall for it All Grande Royale, Brian Genius would steal the supposedly injured Brutal Chambers’s spot in the match and ran commentary with Pru and the regular announce team in an attempt to trick people into thinking he wasn’t actually in the match. Eventually joining in to help his associates Rusty and Crimson, he ran afoul of former WJHW champion Raijin Narukami. When Brutal Chambers later entered by usurping the last mystery spot, Brian Genius eliminated himself from the match. World Junior Heavyweight Champion (2009-2010) Following The Grandest Stage, Brutal was distracted from a return match with Genius due to a Battling Bowl situation where Brutal saved Pru from Lester Balaam Jackson, drawing his unstoppable ire. Some say this was at the request of Brutal due to his personal issues with Genius's real-life relationship with Pru. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources citation needed Stemming from their previous encounters, Brian Genius and the now-named Cool Kids of Rusty Cooledge and Crimson Skies began a feud with Raijin Narukami and his AAPW faction of Ajay Rupa, "Mammoth" Kang JumBo, and Tiger GAO III. Leading up to a traditional Remain Alive 4-on-4 match at the pay-per-view of the same name, The Cool Kids began teasing a mystery fourth partner. In the final show before the event, with the aid of Brian Genius, GAO III turned on his longtime mentor Raijin Narukami, unmasked, and renamed himself MAKOTO. The Cool Kids would lose their match when MAKOTO was the last man eliminated for their team (Genius had been eliminated earlier by Ajay Rupa). Leading up to the Cargado Completamente pay-per-view in Mexico, management forced Genius into a feud with Latin American star Internetico after Genius put his partner, GANJU, on the shelf using his grapevine ankle lock. Annoyed at the convenience of Internetico being handed a title shot due to his ethnicity and just the very idea of wrestling in Mexico again, Genius said he would only allow the match to happen if Internetico put his mask on the line, as he was collecting them and already had Tiger GAO III's. Internetico agreed, not aware that Genius would not be putting his World Junior Heavyweight Title on the line as well. Through a series of attempted de-maskings and one especially dramatic hair-lock obtaining on the part of Internetico, acting assistant to the commissioner Gregory Funman made the match Mask versus Hair. Outraged, Genius cut his own hair immediately prior to the match to gain a psychological advantage over Internetico. Using until-then-unknown exective priviledge, Funman then forced Genius to put the title on the line. It was a hellacious match that included Genius busting open his opponent's mouth with an apron-to-floor Springshot, attempting to start a riot to get out of the match, and barely coming out on top with a last-ditch reversal of an Internetico top-rope move with an Expert Dreamcrusher from the top. After the match, Internetico removed his mask with a switchblade and attempted to hand it over to Genius, who refused to take it. It was announced that PGA Final Four would host the final match of the first-ever international Junior's Cup tournament. Participants from the PGA, AAPW, and POWER Pro would compete for a chance to face Brian Genius for the World Junior Heavyweight Title at the next PPV. One of the original entrants was fellow Cool Kid Crimson Skies, who was set to face former WJHT-holder Raijin Narukami. Crimson had been severely injured by Helm Konrad following an incident in which he was left for dead by his fellow stablemates, with the exception of Genius in a rare fit of decency. Under the advisement of Rusty Cooledge, and not wanting to see his "friend" injured any further, he offered Raijin a "free" WJHT shot at Final Four if he opted out of the tournament and gave Crimson a bye so he could heal for round 2. Seeing as how that was the only reason he had entered the tournament, Raijin accepted, wishing to get "his" title back. Later in the night we would see Rusty steal Raijin's spot, claim junior status, and further injure Crimson Skies to advance in the tournament. The next week, Rusty would appear pre-taped, via Japan, where he attacked his other teammate MAKOTO unawares while he was busy recruiting Japanese Cool Kids members. After taking out johnny GO and SEGATA, he would defeat MAKOTO to receive an early, easy round 2 victory. Following this incident, Brian Genius then went to GM Funman to get his own spot in the tournament. He flat-out claimed that since he was the WJH champion, he should be allowed in, seeing as how he was the best junior in the world. Depending on how you were watching, he was either really doing this to avenge his friends and stop the barely-a-junior Cooledge from making a mockery of the tournament and taking him out last, or under orders from Rusty to have an easy final opponent. It was also during this time that Rusty implied that he had some kind of dirt on Brian, which is why he would go along with his plans and not just kick his ass right then and there. Genius would take the injured Brutal Chamber’s spot, and defeat johnny GO, GANJU, and Yoshihiro Jin in straightforward, legitimate matches to make it to the finals. Raijin Narukami, needless to say, was less than thrilled by all of this. Meanwhile, during all of this, Genius was also helping Pru make her way through the XX Division tournament. Pru, up until this point, had been a legitimately bad wrestler and was now being depicted as such from a storyline perspective as well. Considering herself a plucky underdog, she made her way through the tournament to the finals, not realizing that Genius had helped her beyond additional wrestling training. In the first round he tripped up Miss Christina, and in the second round he paid the Guns For Hire to attack the Bastard’s Club, which distracted Natasha. (To be fair, Snake Eyes pretty much said that he had hired the Guns himself to attack Pru during the match) The whole sideplot treaded the fine line of Genius just keeping Pru happy to continue his elaborate hoax that got him the WJHT in the first place, and him beginning to legitimately care about her, but not enough to just tell her she shouldn’t be wrestling in the first place. As it stood, Brian Genius was involved in three different matches at Final Four, a tournament final, a WJHT match, and as Pru’s second during the XX Division championship match. Brian opened the PPV with his title defense, which according to commentary was by his request. In an amazing match that featured a hot crowd, complete with a vocal minority of pro-Genius fans, Raijin and Genius tore each other apart. Brian more than likely gave Raijin a concussion early in the match with a knee to the back of the head, and Raijin worked his shoulder the entire match, visibly injuring it. As the final minutes of the match counted down, Raijin had the obvious advantage but could not keep Genius down, who kept kicking out at the last possible nanosecond running on pure instinct. In the final seconds, Raijin hit a lightning spiral, then, hesitating for a moment, decided to give Brian another one to guarantee that he stayed down. Two seconds into his pinfall attempt, the bell rang declaring a 30-minute draw. Medical officials helped Genius to the back while a dazed Raijin second-guessed his strategy in the ring. Backstage, Genius attempted to forego medical attention so he could accompany Pru to the ring for her match with Ruth Toskala, only to be told that if he didn’t get cleared he would not be able to face Rusty later in the night. Not wanting Rusty to be handed the Junior’s Cup, Genius gritted his teeth and left for a medical facility, after a disgustingly sweet moment with Pru. She would go on to her match with Ruth by herself, and get absolutely slaughtered for the majority of the match. After a brief, shocking flurry of offense from Pru, Ruth managed to deliver the final blow of the match, which also knocked out the referee. Rusty Cooledge, out of nowhere, hopped out of the crowd and soccer-kicked Toskala, knocking her out and dragging the unconscious Pru on top of her. After the referee was roused, Pru managed to get the inexplicable victory and became the first-ever XX Division champion. Later, Rusty came down to the ring to declare himself the victor in the Junior’s Cup tournament. His victory celebration was cut short by an injured but resilient Genius, and a less-than-pleased-by-her-tainted-victory Pru. Rusty gave Genius an ultimatum, to either lay down or get his head kicked in like the rest of his teammates. Brian laid down in the middle of the ring to the absolute terror of Pru and the fans, but quickly reversed the two-count into a small package of his own! Rusty barely managed to kick-out, and was absolutely irate. Brian managed to calm him down and suggested they “have a match,” which led to a comical “fake” series of exchanges, making a mockery of professional grappling. The crowd, ready to riot as two of the biggest heels made a joke out of what was supposed to be an awesome Junior’s tournament, then came unglued as Rusty leaned down for a “backdrop” “spot” and Brian Genius ran at full speed and kneed him in the head with as much force as humanly possible. Genius desperately tried to pin Rusty, but was overcome by his injured shoulder from his match with Raijin. Two Rusty Hinges directly onto his shoulder and a soccer kick later, and Rusty Cooledge, a man who was more than likely not at Junior weight at any time during the tournament, became the first World Junior Cup holder. Claiming that “everyone got what they wanted” at Final Four, Rusty Cooledge traded in his WJHT shot for a PGA World Heavyweight Title shot, leaving Brian without an opponent at Crossfire. While he sat on the sidelines nursing his injury and dealing with the fact that Pru was becoming mildly suspicious over the fact that he wasn’t just openly murdering Rusty, B. Armstrong Ruby entered an endorsement deal with Boost Mobile to host a phone-in contest to determine the next #1 contender to the World Junior Heavyweight Title. One possibly-rigged vote and several cult hit promos later, Zane “Zubaz” Vance went on to challenge Genius at Crossfire for the title. Brian Genius won in a closely-contested battle that featured The White Knight struggling to adapt to Zane’s early-nineties offense. Immediately following the match, Brutal Chambers entered the ring and challenged Genius to a rematch at Crowning a Champion’s Waist. (unfinished) Personal Life The neutrality of this section is disputed While unconfirmed, Brian Glenn is supposedly dating Prudence Joyner-Decinces in real life, and are often seen traveling together. The two also make frequent guest appearances together at various Second City Improv Nights around the country, and several YouTube clips of them at karaoke bars have surfaced. Many consider their relationship and Pru's long-time stature within the company the only reason behind Genius's mega-push. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources citation needed In wrestling Pro Graps Association *'Finishing moves' ** Expert Dreamcrusher (Cobra Clutch Russian Legsweep opt. into submission) ** Expert Dreamtwister (Cobra Stretch) *'Signature moves' **Springshot (elevated surface-assisted reverse STO) **Numerous moves that involve driving his knee into his opponent's face *Managers **Pru *Nicknames **"The White Knight" **"The Smartest Man in the PGA" (self-proclaimed) **"Real World Champ" (fan-proclaimed) **"Best Boyfriend in the World" (Pru-claimed) *'Music' **My Chemical Romance - Party Poison **The Hives - Diabolic Scheme Independent Circuit *'Finishing Moves' **''Breakfast of Champions'' (hangtime Savage Elbow) **''Straight Butter ''(Rocker Dropper) **''Ankle Lock ''(Ankle Lock opt. with Grapevine) *'Signature Moves' **''Sweet Christmas ''(cobra clutch sleeper drop) **''Flapper Foot Action Kick'' (either a Lethal Kick or a shuffle super-kick, announcers referred to both moves by this name) *'Music' **DVDA - Now You're A Man! (Brian Glenn) **Dropkick Murphys - Rocky Road to Dublin (Face Minor/Major Annoyance) **Quarashi - Stick 'Em Up'' (Heel Major Annoyance)'' **The Hives - Hate to Say I Told You So (Brian Genius) Championships and Accomplishments *'Outstanding Wrestling Federation' **OWF Cruiserweight Champion (1) **OWF Tag Team Champion (3) - with Irish Rob (Major Annoyance) **OWF United States Champion (1) **OWF Heavyweight Champion (1) *'Professional Grappling Association' **'World Junior Heavyweight Champion' (1) External links *Brian Genius on Twitter Category:World Junior Heavyweight Champions